Ornamental chain machine



Jan. 1941- K. WACKER 2,229,149

ORHAMENTAL CHAIN MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13, 1959 Jan. 21, 1941..

K. WACKER 2,229,149

ORNAMENTAL CHAIN MACHINE Filed Feb. 13, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 &

lV/W i7 INVENTOR 4 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES ORNAMENTAL CHAIN MACHINE Karl Wacker, Pforzheim,

Armbrust Chain Company,

Ithode Island Germany, assignor to a corporation of Application February 13, 1939, Serial No. 256,073

6 Claims.

My present invention relates to the jewelry art, and has particular reference to a novel machine for making ornamental chains.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide an automatic mechanism which is particularly suitable for the production of hollow chain links.

Another object of my invention is to provide an automatic mechanism which will permit manufacture of hollow chains having a designed cross section.

An additional object of my invention is to provide a novel mechanism of the type described for the manufacture of ornamental filled links.

With the above objects and other advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a novel machine arrangement for use with a standard chain making machine.

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the upper rear portion of the former die;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the lower rear portion of the former die;

Fig. 5a. is a perspective view of a modified lower rear portion of the former die;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the front portion of the former die;

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail showing the housing for the former die;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a strip of ornamental metal;

Fig. 10 is a perspective View showing the forming of the sheet strip into tubular form after passage through the former die;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a filler rod;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the shaping of the strip, using the filler rod. of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the novel helical coil formed.

It has been found desirable to provide an attachment fora chain making machine, which will automatically manufacture ornamental chain links of either hollow or filled construction. To this end, I have provided a novel former die arrangement which receives a fiat strip of ornamental metal, as from a roll, and shapes the ornamental metal into tubular form, an inner filler being used if desired. After the ornamental metal has been shaped into tubular form,

y it is received by a screw feeder which automatically winds the shaped tubular metal intohelical form and feeds the helical tubular metal to the standard cutting and joining mechanism of the chain machine.

Referring to; the drawings, the novel attachment 20 includes a power actuated crank 2| which is pivotally connected to an oscillating rack 23, mounted for sliding movement in the frame of the chain machine. The rack 23 meshes with a geared hub 24 which is rotatably supported in a fixed bearing 25, the hub 24 having a central bore 26 Within which a shaft 21 is slidably mounted. As shown in Fig. 3, the hub 24 has an annular collar 28' keyed thereto in any desired manner, this annular collar having a plurality of parallel laterally extending rods 29 mounted therein and locked thereto by means of studs 30. A hub 3| is keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft 21, as by means of lock screws 32, and has a plurality of transverse parallel bores 33 which slidably receive the rods 29.

A worm gear 34 is keyed to one end of the shaft 21, as by means of a lock screw 35, and is provided with a helical groove 36, the worm gear being rotatably sup-ported in a fixed bearing 31 which has a fixed pin 38 secured thereto and extending into the groove 36, whereby oscillation of the shaft 21 and the worm gear 34 produce a reciprocation of the shaft. The end of the shaft is formed with a spiral worm 39, having a helical groove 49 for the purpose hereinafter described.

Referring to Figs. 4 to 8, the chain machine is provided with a'stationary housing arrangement 4| for receiving the former die, a circular recess 42 therein housing the die, and an aperture 43 being provided in the forward portion of the housing for the exit of the shaped tubular strip. A front former die 44 is seated in the forward portion of the cavity 42, and has a conical bore 45; two rear former dies cooperate with the front die, these dies respectively consisting of an upper half die 46 having a convex portion 41 and a lower rear portion 48 having a tapered fiat recessed seat 49 and a central arcuate portion 50, the upper and lower die portions fitting as shown in Fig. 8. If the chain is to be formed hollow the lower die is shaped as indicated at 5| in Fig. 5a, with a flat recessed slanted portion 52, the central arcuate portion being omitted.

A strip of ornamental metal 53 such as disclosed in Fig. 9, which is preferably in a roll, is fed into the rear portion of the former die on the recessed surface 49. Forward movement of the strip 53 in the die causes the conical bore 45 to form the strip into a hollow tube as illustrated at 54 in Fig. 10. For this form, the lower die portion 51, illustrated in Fig. 5a, may be used. If it is desirable to use a filler, the lower die element 48 must be used. A rod of filler material 55, Fig. 11, is inserted in the arcuate die cavity 50, and the tube 56, as disclosed in Fig. 12, will then be formed about the rod 55 to form a filled tube, whereby inexpensive material may be used inside the outer layer of more expensive ornamental material. As the finished filled portion 56 is drawn through the die, the filler rod 55 will be drawn in simultaneously with the strip 53.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the tubular rod emerging from the former die is initially manually wound into the groove 40 of the shaft extension 39, the size of the groove 40 preferably gradually increasing slightly toward the free end, so as to provide greater frictional engagement at the initial winding of the tubular rod with the sides and bottom of the groove 40. With the tubular rod initially wound into the groove 40, operating the machine actuates the crank and thus rocks the rack to impart an oscillating motion to the shaft 21, whereby engagement of the fixed pin 38 with the helical groove 36 feeds the shaft 21 and its spiral end 39 forwardly and backwardly during the revolution of the crank, the forward feeding gripping the tubular rod 54 and winding it forwardly into a helical coil 51, and the backward movement winding the shaft end back through the helical coil 51, the helical coil giving sufiiciently to permit free backward movement of the shaft end and thus exposing an end portion 58 of a size to form at least one link to the cutting mechanism of the chain machine.

The groove 40 may be cut to accommodate any desired shape or cross section of the tubular rod, whereby a former die of appropriate shape and a matching thread 40 cooperate to form links of desired contour, which are either hollow, or are solid with a filler of metal or other suitable material.

The novel machine attachment thus forms strips of ornamental material into tubular form of any desired cross section, winds the tubular formed material into helical form, and feeds the helical tubular material forwardly so as to expose sufficient. length thereof to permit cutting for forming a chain portion, the forward movement covering a winding and a resulting gripping, and the backward movement unwinding the coil to release the gripping. Any desired ornamental material may be used, metal being the preferred material, and any desired material may be used for a filler, whereby a light tubular chain or a heavier filled chain is readily obtained.

While I have described a specific constructional embodiment of my improved chain attachment, it is obvious that changes in the arrangement and operation of the parts in order to obtain different sizes of links for the completed chain, different thicknesses of links, and different cross sections or contours for the links, may be ciprocating said shaft forwardly and then backwardly.

2. Incombination, a frame, a rotatable shaft mounted in said frame and having a helical rod receiving groove, a worm gear keyed thereto and having a helical groove, means for rotating said shaft forwardly and backwardly, and a fixed stop pin secured to said frame and engaging said worm gear helical groove, whereby rotation of said shaft in opposite directions produces a reciprocation thereof.

3. In combination, a frame, a rotatable shaft mounted in said frame and having a helical rod receiving groove, a worm gear keyed thereto and having a-helical groove, means for rotating said shaft forwardly and backwardly comprising a reoiprocatable rack and a cooperating gear operatively connected to said shaft, and a fixed stop pin secured to said frame and engaging said worm gear helical groove, whereby rotation of said shaft in opposite directions produces a reciprocation thereof.

4. In combination, a frame, a rotatable shaft mounted in said frame and having a helical rod receiving groove, a worm gear keyed thereto and having a helical groove, means for rotating said shaft forwardly and backwardly comprising a reciprocatable rack, a hub gear engaged thereby, a rod secured to said gear and extending therefrom in parallel relation. to its axis, and a coiler keyed to said shaft and slidably engaging said rod, and a fixed stop pin secured to said frame and engaging said worm gear helical groove, whereby rotation of said shaft in opposite directions produces a reciprocation thereof.

5. In combination, a die for forming a strip of sheet material into a tubular rod, a shaft having a helical groove adaptedto receive said rod, means for continuously feeding the formed tubular rod from said die to said helical groove, means for alternately rotating said'shaft in a clockwise and a counter-clockwise direction, and means for reciprocating said shaft forwardly and backwardly in timed relation to said rotating actions.

- 6. In combination, a die for forming a strip of material into a tubular rod, a frame, a rotatable shaft mounted in said frame and having a helical groove adapted to receive said rod, means for continuously feeding the formed tubular rod from said die to said helical groove, and means for successively simultaneously rotating and reciprocating said shaft forwardly and then backwardly, said means including a worm gear keyed to said shaft and having a helical groove, and a fixed stop pin secured to said frame and riding in said groove, whereby rotation of said shaft in opposite directions produces a reciprocation thereof.

KARL WACKER. 

